Mike Lister

Yes, and? The issue is imported funds from overseas and tax payable on that money by foreigners who are tax resident in Thailand. The issue is not the grey market economy here. The RD can't easily prove that maid got paid cash in hand but they can easily rove that Jonny Foreigner received 250k Baht from Nat West Bank in Croydon.

....and signed by the Head of HMRC, in black ink, no photocopies allowed.

The RD could cope with as many tax returns as the public wanted to throw at them, as long as they have the disk space, given that it's all online these days.

Conversely, seeking tax advice from internet tax lawyers who make their living from selling tax advice, probably isn't the wisest move, even less wise perhaps than seeking advice on public forums!

I agree the impact will be geographically uneven and that it will be felt most by local economies rather than nationally . People with higher than average net worth and who have children at international schools, where the fees can run to 250k per term, seem unlikely to be affected, I would have thought. Those people are upper middle class earners and unlikely to balk at still low effective tax rates in Thailand. I think the most likely negative impact will be felt by lower middle class retirees whose budgets are already stretched and who see this as the final straw. Retirees on fixed incomes who are squeezed between cost inflation and fixed earnings that aren't increased by inflation, are potentially vulnerable.

I don't believe it is suggesting the diarrhea is causative. I believe it is saying the heart attack was asymptomatic other than the diarrhea, caused by the nerve that connects the dying heart tissue..

Er, not really. You cannot claim a deduction unless you file a tax return, you can't just say I would be allowed this deduction so there's no tax to pay hence I wont file. Anyone who has assessible income over 60k Baht per year must file. .

Whilst the British embassy spokesperson will issue a statement saying, we continue to support British subjects overseas in their hour of need.

You remember that old cartoon showing a diagram of what the customer asked for, what was designed, what was constructed and what was delivered? This is going to be very similar, the end product in 15 months time, isn't going to look anything like we think it might today.

That will work and is much better/safer all round. We have a large area of garden, my experience is that even if you spray the entire thing with Agent Orange, in three weeks time (or less) all manner of fascinating things grow back. The only viable solution is regular and frequent maintenance.

How do you arrive at expats paying for the 560 bill giveaway? Regardless, the more money that is given away, the more demand for goods will increase and the more upwards price pressure will be generated.

It is the case that under the US/Thai DTA, Thailand is forbidden from taxing US Social Security and other types of income specified in the treaty. It is certainly not necessary to file an exemption in the US to facilitate that, as you correctly note, the US IRS does not dictate how Thailand taxes people but the DTA does.

You need to visit a smaller Thai run garden shop that sells bags of fertiliser etc, paraquat strength equivalents are widely available but not always advertised. Glyphosate (Roundup) is available. Government was going to ban them but the farmers complained heavily so not sure where the issue stands today.....you wont find it in Big C, Homepro etc, only small shops. Consider using vinegar and baking soda, it's a much better alternative that much safer.

I was referring to long term retirees, over 65 years old are granted an additional 190k deduction. And if you're a retiree from the US, the DTA means that none of your Social Security income is taxable. I'm over 65 and my income is about 65k per month and I pay no tax on that. A person from the UK who is over 65 and their income is 65k, pays around 8k.

Is human trafficking the new socially acceptable term for prostitution? Hey mister, you want human traffic me!

A retiree here is a consistent spender over time but at a low level of spend, a tourist is a far higher level of spend over a shorter period. Average length of tourist stay in Thailand is about 12 days but the average spend is around Baht 5,500 per day.......long term residents spend closer to 60/70k per month, not 170k per month. 60/70k per month income will attract on average, Thai tax of under 8k per year, assuming only few deductions, for me personally it attracts no tax. If you take the longer term economic view, the retiree is the better economic bet because of consistency and duration. But in truth, the economy needs blend of both, long term and short duration foreigners. I challenged your statement that a reduction of stay to under 180 days per year would crater the Thai economy and I continue to be certain it will not, for the reasons described above. You have now asked why 90 day VOA should be offered. I think the answer is that it attempts to extend the stay of the short duration, higher spending tourists which is what the tourism industry needs right now, in order to kick start the economy.

10 uears ago they did!

A major problem is the timing, Thailand appears to be getting ready to create inflation when other economies are trying to slay it. This is going to lead to an out of step relationship as Western economies reduce interest rates whilst Thailand is forced to increase them. A compounding timing problem of course is the blow up in the ME which threatens to push the global economy into recession, just as Thailand is trying to push it the opposite way. This wouldn't be so bad were it not that Thailand is dependent on the global economy for exports and tourism. The consumer led recover that the government seems keen to invoke needs an economy o stimulate! The handout is going to help retail but it wont help manufacturing very much at all and it certainly wont help government debt.

Nah, it'll never happen, not with income tax because the amounts involved have the potential to be very large.

Ask them again in six months time when consumer prices have risen and the economy hasn't improved by but debt has increased.

I'm already following other discussions discussing these things, thanks.

Because there are other aspects of taxation that remain unclear and these are still being discussed. Also, I thought it useful to point out to people asking questions that have already been answered a dozen times, where those answer are.

Again untrue. If you're from the USA and that 65k/month is Social Security income, the tax is zero. If however you are from the Uk you will be taxed on all of the 65k, subject to allowances and deductions. It's all there in the thread.

After 150 posts on the subject, I'm done giving personal tax calculations for people who are too lazy to read the thread!

This thread has thrashed out many of the details, I strongly suggest you read the last ten pages or so. And yes, there are allowances and deductions in the Thai tax system there always has been and these are set out in the RD tax tables, PWC, mazzars and sherrings web sites, all of which have been linked many times in the thread, all the information is right there and easy to understand. A big part of the problem here is that people can't be bothered to read the threads and think they can get personalised answers....you gotta read the thread if you want to know. BTW, I posted link further up this page to a tax calculator, you may have seen it, use that calculate tax on your 65k perhaps.